apetito is a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

frozen food Freezing food Food preservation, preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved grains and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing foo ...

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which was founded in post war

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The company operates in

, the

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, Austria, Spain, France the

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the United States and employ over 11,522 people. They are the main providers of " meals on wheels" for local authorities in the United Kingdom, and Canada, and were given a

Queen's Award for Enterprise Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", ...

in 2005.

History

The company was founded by Karl Düsterberg in 1958 in

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

, Germany as "apetito Ready Meals" producing frozen ready meals for retail and business canteens, schools, nurseries and the service of Meals on Wheels in Germany. The company began to expand, to Canada in 1987, and to neighbouring countries in Europe in 1989, when "apetito B.V" was founded in the Netherlands. In 1991, the company set up "apetito (UK) Limited" in Sevenoaks,

, and by 2001, had acquired "Nord Restauration S.H." and "Orlysienne du Nord" in France. Business outside of Germany now accounts for approx 25% of apetito's total turnover, though the company's headquarters are still in Rheine, Germany.

Meals on wheels

The meals on wheels schemes organised by local councils in United Kingdom deliver 40 million or 77,000 meals every week to 200,000 people. Of these, apetito produces 900,000 meals and puddings a week or 47 million a year.

Wiltshire Farm Foods

apetito operates a private frozen meal delivery service — Wiltshire Farm Foods. The company, originally named "The Waldens Wiltshire Foods Limited" and based in Trowbridge, was purchased by apetito in November 1995. Wiltshire Farm Foods specialise in delivering frozen ready meals to private customers throughout the United Kingdom. The company offers over three hundred different ready to reheat frozen meals, including vegetarian, gluten free, and diabetic. The service is intended mainly for elderly or disabled people, but can be used by anybody who prefers to have meals delivered to their home. Wiltshire Farm Foods deliveries are largely carried out by franchisees.

Heart To Home Meals

On April 13, 2015, Heart To Home Meals launched as the new company name for apetito's Copper County Foods Division.

Copper County Foods

Copper County Foods is the Canadian franchise of Wiltshire Farm Foods. It incorporated on June 25, 2008, and commenced selling franchises in June 2009. The Copper County Foods franchise network is in its infancy in

, with the market in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

currently under development. On April 13, 2015, Copper County Foods rebranded to Heart To Home Meals. Copper County Foods delivers meals, soups and desserts directly to the home. Their products are developed to cater to special dietary needs and can be ordered online, by phone, or with the delivery driver. Product listings are colour coded and tagged with symbols indicating if a meal is diabetic friendly, low in sodium, fat or calories. They also have meals for diets free of gluten and lactose, as well as pureed and minced meals.

Advertising

apetito's first television marketing campaign started on 6 November 2006, showing commercials on every private television station in Germany. Advertisements in England have also been aired.

Awards and nominations

The company were given a

in 2005 for outstanding achievements in innovation in regard to provision of food to the elderly. They were nominated for two awards in 2008, one for corporate responsibility from

ICAEW The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of December 2024, it has over 210,000 memb ...

, the other for business innovation from

IMechE The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 membe ...

. apetito Canada was awarded the ''Brampton Outstanding Business Achievement Award'' in 2010, in the category of Food & Beverage.Brampton Business Achievement Awards
, brampton.ca

References

External links

apetito Official siteapetito UKWiltshire Farm Foods Official WebsiteWiltshire Farm Foods Franchise informationapetito CanadaCopper County Foods
{{Authority control Foodservice companies Privately held companies of Germany Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia German brands Food and drink companies of Germany Online food ordering